FateExtra: Demon Blade
by zanatos green
Summary: A prologue to a story i'm kinda throwing together.will make better description if things progress.


Fate/Extra: Demon Blade

'Is this really how it's going to end?' I asked myself this question over and over again in my mind even though I knew the answer was yes. My attacker had stabbed me in the chest and pierced one of my lungs. No matter what I did, I knew in my heart that it wouldn't work. I knew that I would die here, wherever 'here' was. Damnit this didn't make any sense. For so long (was it really that long?) it was just average ordinary boring old school days same as anywhere else, and now it seems like reality has started falling apart. The world started buzzing and crackling like everything was being viewed through an old antenna TV with bad reception. Then students started disappearing, classmates whom I'd known for years (or have I? how long have I been here?) start acting like soulless animatronics in some amusement park ride, there's apparently some kind of alternate dimension in the schools emergency exit and now…this.

I try to look up at my attacker and focus in on what had killed me. It looked like some sort of weird mechanical doll except that there should be no real way for this thing to operate in any sort of logical sense. It looked fairly humanoid, a dull gold color with glowing crimson lines marked across its body. It had no hands or feet only sharp cones on the end of limbs made of several geometric shapes that seemed like they were only connected simply by touching each other. Its blank featureless face seemed to stare down at me limply before it turned around and walked back over toward the crumpled heap of metal that used to be my guardian.

I first found this strange place after following another classmate of mine - whom I didn't know - and the new transfer student, a charismatic red clad boy named Leo, through the emergency exit of the school which didn't seem to exist there even a second before. As soon as I entered through those doors I found a doll similar to my attacker, and some kind of voice that seemed to emanate from the walls had told me that this thing would be my guardian in the trial to come. When we entered through the next set of doors what we encountered was some kind of weird labyrinth that led downwards into an abyss that in no way should have existed in this world. Exploring the maze further I found that it was populated by strange… things. I'm not sure what else to call them, they patrolled around the place and attacked on sight, which was really all I needed to know about them. My doll did alright at first defeating the first few odd creatures we encountered when we got to the last room, a strange circular room with three enormous stained glass windows overlooking it despite the lack of any actual walls to hold them. Soon after entering I noticed the corpse of my classmate who entered before me as well as another body from someone who must have entered before us and three inactive dolls, two too damaged to even move. I barely had time to process it before the doll rose up and attacked me. My supposed guardian tried to defend me only to get countered at every turn and was swiftly overpowered, and I was struck down shortly after.

"How disappointing." The voice seemed to emanate from the void itself. "Very well then. With your defeat we shall end the preliminary round. The remaining 127 survivors will be proceeding to the next stage. Farewell young one may you rest peacefully with the others." The voice continued coldly.

It takes a second for me to recognize the statement. As soon as I do the ornately decorated floor becomes transparent and as I peered through it I go pale at the sight. Underneath me was what could only be described as a mass grave. A massive mountain of corpses, all of whom were people I went to school with, stretched out underneath me their bodies, pale and mangled, all haphazardly piled onto one another. At the edge of my vision I saw the edges of the floor disappearing. Struggling to see I turn to look and I see the edges crumbling into dust and the two corpses of my classmates who entered before me falling lifelessly onto the pile as the floor fell out beneath them. So that's it then? I'm just going to end up as another corpse on the pile, another sad loser who ended up getting killed by this ridiculous scenario with no idea what's happening. As my eyes drift downward I see the bodies once more. I see the pitiful twisted state many have ended up in. I see dozens of lifeless eyes staring up at me almost welcoming me into their fold. As my eyelids grow heavy and start to close I see myself among their number, another nameless corpse on the grave nothing understood and nothing accomplished only vanishing into the darkness with the others.

A maelstrom of emotion surged through me, terror, confusion, anger, panic. 'No goddamn it I can't stop now,' I thought, 'I can't let myself die without knowing why, without even knowing who I really am. I can't stop.' I try to force myself to breathe but end up coughing up blood instead. Eventually I am able to take a few pained ragged breaths. Enough to just hang on to consciousness even with a non-functioning lung. I try to get on my feet but my body screams in protest. Every move I make is so agonizing it's nearly maddening. I grunt and gasp and cough in defiance and eventually mange to get my feet under me. Unfortunately even though my mind is determined to live my body seems to have given up. As try to rise my legs give out from under me sending me collapsing to the ground.

'Move damn it!' I think to myself as I try once more to rise to my feet. Unfortunately my body is too damaged and can't summon the strength to even support itself.

'No, please no,' I think as tears stream down my face. 'I don't want to die here. Not like this. Not in this place. Please. As the crumbling floor nearly reaches me I try to scream but I am unable to muster up enough air even for that. Helpless, weak, and not even able to scream I did the one thing I could. I prayed. 'Someone, anyone, please save me. I don't want to die.'

"Jeez I can't watch this anymore." A voice echoing out of nowhere. As the voice spoke the floor ceased its collapse.

"I feel bad for you so I guess I'll help you out." Suddenly with a flash of light behind me, and with the sound of breaking glass the floor was restored and the mound of corpses vanished. As I lay there I felt the presence of someone entering the room. I could hear them running towards me and kneel by my side.

"Listen," said the person who judging by the voice was a young man. "We'll save the introductions for later ok? I'll get you some help so just hold on a bit longer," as he said that I saw the doll that attacked me charge toward us, evidently to finish me off. "Don't worry," said my mysterious savior "I'll be quick," with that I a blur rushed past me to engage the doll. I couldn't make out who it was though. At this point I'm so close to losing consciousness it's all just a blur. I feel cold. And as the sounds of combat faded further and further, the mysterious voice that led me spoke up again.

"Well this is unexpected. This close to death and yet you summoned a servant?" The voice from the void echoed again. "Well then I suppose even though you've made such a pathetic display you do still qualify to participate."

I have no idea what in the world he's talking about.

"If you survive this then you will be the 128th contestant in this grand conflict to compete for the ultimate prize." He continues as my consciousness starts to fade away. I don't hear much else that he says as my own wheezes and struggles to stay semi-lucid drowned him out. But as I lost that battle and I only heard one last thing.

"Welcome to the holy grail war."


End file.
